Shloka 140
Right Conduct, Offenses Against Brāhmaṇas, Truthfulness, and the Greatness of the Cow
Go-Māhātmya
अगव्यैर्यस्तु भुंक्ते वै मासमेकं निरंतरम् । भोजने तस्य मर्त्यस्य प्रेताः खादंति चैव हि
agavyairyastu bhuṃkte vai māsamekaṃ niraṃtaram | bhojane tasya martyasya pretāḥ khādaṃti caiva hi
Namun sesiapa yang selama sebulan penuh berterusan memakan hidangan yang disediakan daripada bahan selain hasil lembu—pada jamuan si fana itu, para preta (roh orang yang telah meninggal) benar-benar turut serta dan menjamahnya.
Unspecified in the provided excerpt (context needed from surrounding verses to identify the dialogue pair).
Concept: Impure or adharmic diet (here framed as ‘agavya’ consumption) attracts preta-association and diminishes auspiciousness of one’s meals.
Application: Maintain sāttvika standards in cooking and ingredients; keep offerings and meals aligned with śāstra; treat food as naivedya-in-potential.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dim household dining scene where a man eats continuously from a platter prepared with forbidden ‘agavya’ ingredients; behind him, semi-transparent pretas hover, reaching toward the food, their presence felt as a chilling shadow over the meal. The altar lamp flickers low, suggesting diminished auspiciousness, while a distant tulasī plant appears neglected.","primary_figures":["householder (the eater)","pretas (ancestral spirits)","household deity lamp/altar (symbolic)"],"setting":"Interior dining space near a small shrine; food platter, smoky air, faint ritual objects left unattended.","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["ashen gray","smoky indigo","lamp-flame amber","dull brown","ghostly pale green"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: dramatic moral tableau with a central seated figure eating, ornate but slightly darkened interior, and stylized translucent pretas behind; gold leaf used sparingly on the shrine lamp and vessel rims to contrast with shadowed reds and deep greens; traditional iconographic borders framing a cautionary scene.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: nocturnal interior with delicate brushwork; the eater in profile, pretas rendered as faint washes and fine lines; cool blues and grays dominate; subtle narrative symbolism—dim diya, neglected tulasī, and a calendar marking ‘one month’.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and expressive eyes; pretas as stylized pale figures with exaggerated features; strong contrast between the warm shrine corner and the cool dark dining area; earthy reds, ochres, and deep greens.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: allegorical composition with ornate border of withering tulasī leaves and dark lotus motifs; central platter scene; spectral figures integrated into patterned background; deep indigo cloth, gold highlights, and narrative cartouches explaining the warning."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"fast-dramatic","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low wind","faint rattling","distant dog howl (subtle)","lamp crackle","sudden silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: agavyaiḥ+yaḥ → agavyairyaḥ; ca+eva → caiva.
FAQs
It links sustained consumption of “agavya” (non-cow-derived/ritually improper substitutes) with an inauspicious consequence: the meal becomes associated with pretas, implying spiritual and ritual impurity.
“Pretas” are departed spirits—beings in an unsettled post-death state in Hindu cosmology—often invoked in Dharma literature as symbols of inauspiciousness and ritual contamination.
The verse emphasizes mindful discipline in consumption: habitual disregard for prescribed purity norms is portrayed as attracting negative, inauspicious influences rather than auspicious presence.